Wealth management

Spectrem Group said its Millionaire Investor Index increased 11 points last month, to 14, returning to mildly bullish territory for the first time since July.

Several recent transactions by private-equity investors, such as the HSH Nordbank deal led by the J.C. Flowers Fund and the Doral Financial Corp. deal led by Bear Stearns Merchant Banking, highlight the newly discovered interest of private investors in federally and state-regulated financial institutions.

While predicting housing market losses will continue through next year, executives at American International Group Inc. said it has no plans to abandon its mortgage-related investments, even though losses in that area played a major role in the company's third-quarter profit decline.

Money Management Executive

Amid Bank of America Corp.'s high-profile integration of U.S. Trust Corp. this year, a quiet restructuring is taking place within the Charlotte company in which alternative investments are taking on a leading role.

BB&T Corp.'s wealth management division plans to develop new business by targeting mass-affluent investors.

Executives at PFPC Worldwide Inc. said they expect the pending acquisition of a New Jersey data aggregator to turn the PNC Financial Services Group Inc. unit into a more extensive resource for advisers.

Royal Bank of Canada's RBC Asset Management Inc. has added the RBC Premium U.S. Money Market Fund for investors with large U.S. dollar balances looking for liquidity at a lower price than traditional U.S. dollar money market funds, and better returns than savings accounts.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. has agreed to buy Albridge Solutions Inc., a Lawrenceville, N.J., provider of portfolio accounting and enterprise wealth management services.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., an Itasca, Ill., insurance brokerage and risk management services firm, has bought Cedar Hill Insurance Agency Inc. of Scottsdale, Ariz. The purchase was announced Wednesday. The price was not disclosed.

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Strong results from its international businesses enabled MetLife Inc. to limit its losses in a mediocre third quarter.

New York Life Insurance Co. said it has put Paul Pasteris, a senior vice president, in charge of its special markets businesses.

Money Management Executive

Citigroup Inc.'s alternative investments unit agreed to buy Carlton Hill Global Capital LLC, a New York money manager specializing in credit derivatives.

BB&T Corp. has hired Mike Woody as a sales and service leader for the private financial services group in its Charlotte wealth management unit.

Phoenix Cos. Inc., a Hartford, Conn., company that sells an array of life insurance, annuities, and investment products, said its third-quarter operating income fell 9.3% from a year earlier, to $34.2 million, or 30 cents a share.

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. has agreed to settle charges regarding the data it produced about its mutual funds.